Back at the end of August, when we had the party at our house, Nadia made and brought her homemade Oreo truffles [that she had mentioned to me in the past several times]. It was my first time trying them, and let me tell you: absolutely delicious. I may or may not have consumed most of them…I asked her how she made them, and for some reason or another didn’t get around to making them until today.

Making Oreo truffles at home are incredibly easy [not good for someone like me who has a major sweet tooth], and take no time at all. Although there are a few steps involved.

Not only is it easy to make, but only requires three ingredients.

What you need is:

Oreos [or any cream filled chocolate cookies]

1 [8 ounce] package of cream cheese, softened

2 [7 ounce] containers of Bakers dipping chocolate [milk chocolate]

What I did was:

Take about 4-5 Oreos and finely crush them [in a food processor]. Set aside for later: you will use these to sprinkle on top of the truffles.

Finely crush the rest of the Oreos [in a food processor]. Add your cream cheese and mix the two ingredients until they are combined well.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Take about a teaspoon of the mixture, roll into a “ball” and lay on the baking sheet. I made 36 truffles, but quantity will vary and depend on the size you roll the truffles into. When the baking sheet[s] are full, set it in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes so they are easier to work with. Once you take them out of the fridge, they will be easier to roll them into balls if you couldn’t before because of the gooey texture.

Melt the dipping chocolate as per instructions. It took about 90 seconds to melt for me I’d say.

Using two teaspoons [or a toothpick], dip each of the balls in the chocolate, and lay back on the lined baking sheet.

Immediately sprinkle them with the Oreo crumbs you set aside before. Tip: sprinkle the truffles right away because the dipping chocolate hardens fairly quickly. Don’t wait to do this part at the end once all have been coated.

The truffles can be eaten right away [which is of course, what I did], but I’d set them back in the fridge to firm a little more.

I used a food processor for everything, but you could just as easily crush the cookies in a ziploc bag and then just mix the cream cheese and Oreos together.

I made this one frozen, because without a second thought I put it to set in the freezer instead of the fridge in the chaos… but it would be just as good [and I plan to try it next time] cold, but not frozen.

You need:

Oreo pie crust [store-bought or homemade]

2 [small] packages of instant choco­late pudding

2 + 1/2 cups of milk

Oreos

Cool whip container [large container]

What I did was:

Combine the milk and pudding mixes and mix well. Add about half of the cool whip and fold until the mixture is a smooth and consistent color.

Pour about half of the pudding on top of the pie crust.

Add a layer of Oreo cookies on top before adding the rest of the pudding.

Freeze until set [or overnight] before decorating the top with the rest of the cool whip. And more Oreos.

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See, it is the next task I took on… just six months later. And by accident.Some a long time ago, like back at the end of August two days before a party at our house when I had a million other things to be doing, I decided that I needed to reorganize the way I organize my hijabs because they currently use up 4/6 of my dresser drawers. Not that I had other priorities at the moment or anything with 80+ people invited.

When that plan failed in under 60 seconds, this happened:

This door pocket organizer [that I’ve had at the bottom of my closet for the almost three years I’ve lived in the house] now houses some of my clutches, wristlets, small purses etc.

The main reason I didn’t end up storing some of my hijabs in this pocket organizer? The pockets weren’t opaque. I couldn’t see them unless I pulled them out, and that defeated the purpose. I wasn’t about to pull out each hijab trying to find which one I wanted to wear. I’m an out-of-sight, out-of-mind type of person for sure for things like this.

Any ideas for the larger purses and bags? I’m thinking of just throwing them in a basket like container and storing it inside my closet, but let’s see.

…and while we are it, any ideas for organizing hijabs? I’d like my 4/6 dresser drawers back…

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Very similar to the mango ice cream ingredients, and just as easy. Once again, you just pretty much combine the ingredients, and freeze!

You need:

12 ounce whipped cream

1 14 oz condensed milk

1 evaporated milk

1 bread, grinded

Almonds and Pistachios, to taste, grinded.

For the almonds and pistachios, for the above quantities, I’d say I used about 3/4 cup of each.

Mix everything together and freeze. Either in Popsicle molds or something similar. Tip: if it’s being made for a party, we divide them into small singled-serving-sized cups before freezing for convenience. It’s easy to serve, and eat!

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Cheesecakes. I love them. As it isn’t apparent by the number of different kind of cheesecakes I have made in the last several months. To think I always thought cheesecakes were so difficult to make makes me laugh now.

Anyhow, for Shazia’s bridal shower yesterday, I made a Turtle Cheesecake with an Oreo based crust. Turtle? What’s a turtle you ask? Not exactly sure why, but it’s the combination of chocolate, caramel and pecans. And that’s exactly what my cheesecake this day was. And the Oreos? Well, that was just for fun.

What you you need:

Cream-filled cookies [like Oreos]

2 packages of [8-ounce] cream cheese, softened

2 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

Mini chocolate chip morsels

Chopped pecans

To make the cheesecake:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Crumble the [Oreo] cookies and press onto the bottom of your [springform] pan. This is your crust!

Combine the other four ingredients [cream cheese, vanilla extract, eggs and sugar] until it is a smooth mixture. Then pour over your Oreo based crust.

Sprinkle the top of your cheesecake batter with mini chocolate chips and pecans. Two out of three of the “turtle”. The third, the caramel, will be drizzled on top right before serving.

Bake, in your preheated oven, for 50 minutes. Let it cool completely before removing it from the [springform] pan and cutting into it [to give the cheesecake time to settle].

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I love mangoes, but ironically not anything made out of mangoes. This mango ice cream, however, is something the rest of my family loves [and everyone else]. Weird side note: my brother Ayaz won’t eat mangoes but loves mango juice!

You need:

1 can of Mango pulp

12 ounces of whipped cream, softened

1 [14 ounce] can of condensed milk

1 can of evaporated milk

Mix everything together, and freeze. Can it be any easier?Tip: if it’s being made for a party, we divide them into small singled-serving-sized cups before freezing for convenience. It’s easy to serve, and eat!

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A family favorite fizzy beverage is a strawberry and pina colada combination that we have done often. For our family party at the end of August, however, I wanted to make something different.

This time, I did a mango and strawberry combination. To sprite, add a splash each of mango and strawberry margarita mixers. Add ice. Mix well.When I made the party size version [for the one at the end of August] in the dispenser, before mixing all the ingredients together, the combination of the strawberry and mango mixers looked like a sunset… so I decided to call it the “Sunset Fizz”.

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Before I went, a lot of the reading I did [which was A LOT] told me that everything is readily accessible to purchase upon my arrival. That may have been true, but I wasn’t going there to shop and wanted to utilize my time as best as I could. With me, I took along things I foresaw a need for.But I’ll be completely honest: packing was stressful. I had never been before and didn’t know exactly what I would need and kept a lot of things ‘I thought I may possibly need’ but didn’t actually need. I guess you can say I wanted to be prepared?

I didn’t end up finishing my packing until the morning of my flight, which is very unlike me. For days I kept putting things in only to take them right back out. SO not worth the trouble/headache it caused me. The end result was that I packed a suitcase comprising of some things I didn’t necessarily need to bring along. What I would have loved was to have someone who had gone for hajj before tell me exactly what I would need and what was unnecessary.

Photocopies of travel documents. This goes without saying, but don’t forget your passports, etc. and I would suggest you keep photocopies of them in your luggage just as a precaution [considering your passports are taken from you for the duration of your trip].

Comfortable walking shoes [and socks].

Wearing socks, whenever possible, during tawaf and sa’ee helps in avoiding dry and patchy/blistering skin. Keep in mind that men can’t wear socks during the state of ihram [but women can].

Flip-flops: most convenient for the masjid.

Vaseline. All the walking [barefoot for men during ihram] [in the tawaf and sa’ee especially] leads to patchy and dry feet.

A [drawstring] bag. If your group doesn’t provide it for you [ours did]. Convenient to hold your flip-flops inside the masjid so you can keep it with you at all times. 1] Storing it outside doesn’t guarantee you’ll find it afterwards with the enormous crowd you are dealing with. 2] You may not leave from the same gate/door you entered from.

Disposable gloves

for public bathrooms. You’ll thank me for it later.

they are also great for when you are picking up pebbles for rami/jamarat.

Prescribed medication that you take on a daily basis. Keep these on you at all times.

Also, keep a list of all the medicines you take [along with their doses] and any medical conditions you may have in case of any emergencies that may arise there.

Precautionary medicine. In case you fall ill. There are three million plus people there, mashallah, which means there are three million people’s worth of germs around… enough said.

Pain relievers, antibiotics, cough drops, etc.

Comfy and modest clothing. There are plenty of long days so you want to make sure your clothes are comfortable, but don’t forget the modesty part!

Abayas [women]. I originally wasn’t sure if I was going to keep any and I ended up wearing them the majority of the time. They really are the easiest thing to wear.

Bathroom slippers. These especially come in handy when taking a shower in Mena.

TSA approved locks that don’t require a key. The last thing you need is another thing (keys for the locks) to be carrying/keeping track of.

Snack bars. Our program, Dar el Salam, provided ample food but the snack bars I kept as a precaution came in very handy during the long bus rides when stuck in traffic.

Disposable underwear. Laundry isn’t readily available and I found it easiest to purchase ample underwear from home and dispose of them after use.

First aid kit essentials. Band-aids, anti-septic wipes, gauze, etc. just in case you need any of them.

Face mask. It will help with the dust/smog/pollution/whatever you want to call it that you will inevitability face there outside.

Toiletries. Basic toiletries are provided in the hotels, but you will need them for the duration of your stay in Mena [see below].

Scissors [women]. To cut your hair in order to get out of the state of ihram.

7-beaded string. This can potentially be helpful in keeping count during tawaf or sa’ee if you think you’ll have a hard time keeping track– we took one, but didn’t end up using it.

Eyeglass cords. If you wear glasses, it’s a good idea to attach one of these cords. There’s a large crowd and it becomes very congested during tawafs– this way, if your glasses are knocked down, they are still around your neck!

For the duration of Mena, space is very limited, so pack light! I definitely over-packed! You need:

unscented toiletry items since you will be in ihram for a part of it [so I would recommend just packing only unscented items to save space]. Shampoo, toothpaste, soap, lotion, deodorant, flushable wipes, etc.

4 sets of clothes [one for each day]. Women may need more based on their discretion.

Bath towel.

Water-Proof bag to hold essenials/clothes during shower that has a handle that fits around shower handle. A family friend suggested this for the duration of our stay in Mena and I can’t thank her enough for it! While our camp had hooks behind the bathroom doors, I am pretty sure most don’t. Since the shower and toilet are unimaginably close, your best option is to have a bag that fits over the shower handle.

Now for specifically for when you are in ihram [during umrah and hajj]: a whole lot of unscented/fragrance-free.

unscented deodorant.

for females: I was able to find a ‘Secret Outlast’ brand that was unscented [online].

for males: I found a ‘Dove Men+Care’ product that was unscented [online].

Once you arrive, and you realize you forgot an essential or need something, chances are you can find it at a store called Bin-Dawood there. Someone called it the equivalent of Wal-mart… and I agree: just about everything can be found there!

Take a picture of all of your luggage and make a note of it’s color, size, company, etc. in case it gets lost. In hindsight, it’s almost impossible to remember the details and it is just helpful to have handy.

One last suggestion: keep your ihram [and items you need for Mena too I suppose] in your carry-on and don’t check-in these items on your flight. If, for whatever reason your luggage is misplaced, the last thing you want to lose is your ihram, etc.